Cervical Screening

Cervical Cancer is one of the most pressing women’s health issues globally, despite being largely preventable through HPV vaccination, regular screening and the treatment of precancerous lesions. In Uganda and Tanzania, cervical cancer contributes to over 80% of all female malignancies and is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, mainly because of late presentation and delays in receiving appropriate treatment. Both counties have implemented a national roll out of HPV vaccinations for several years, however there is typically low uptake and coverage. Other problems affecting cervical screening programmes are a lack of trained staff, sociocultural factors (including a lack of public awareness), and lack of quality-assured screening programmes. Most existing screening programmes lack functional referral systems and do not reach target populations. Knowledge for Change developed its first Centre of Excellence for cervical screening and treatment at Kagote Health Centre III in Fort Portal, Uganda in 2017 and went on to expand this to 4 other health facilities in Fort Portal (Bukuuku, Kataraka and Kasusu Health Centres and Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital) with funding support from UKAid, and also to Kasangati Health Centre in Kampala, Uganda. Since there currently exists no public service for screening, K4C is expanding its Cervical Screening programme to Zanzibar, Tanzania, where our NGO is already registered (no.0000210165). Coupled with low levels of cervical cancer awareness and education, the lack of publicly accessible services is contributing to missed diagnoses and missed treatment for women. Our expansion of the project will include purchasing new devices, and training K4C nurses to screen patients. £5000 would provide the necessary EVA device, portable cold thermocoagulator device, and general consumables, including speculums.